HP Envy Spectre Ultrabook

Pros

Cons

Glitchy trackpad misinterprets clicking as a multi‐touch gesture

Charger is bulky and heavy

Courtesy of HP

4

5

For more taxing tasks like video streaming and photo editing, the capable HP Envy Spectre is a great pick. It was among the most expensive ultrabooks in our test, but this stylish system, with its glassy exterior finish and high-quality materials and feel, boasts excellent graphics and a great performance score to back up its high price tag. The HP also had one of the clearest, most brilliant screens with higher resolution than others in our test, and its built-in Beats Audio was the best of the bunch. The backlit keyboard is a nice touch too but, otherwise, the Envy Spectre wasn't a hit with consumer testers when it came to usability. In particular, they were frustrated with the HP's glitchy trackpad and integrated right and left mouse buttons — it's a multi-gesture touchpad like the MacBook Air's but we found that it often misinterpreted our commands — and volunteers gave the PC low scores for ergonomics too. Though the laptop is less than four pounds, it still proved to be one of the heaviest systems in our test, and its hefty charger didn't help the HP's portability either. If you don't mind a little extra weight, the HP is definitely a powerhouse, but you can get comparable performance in a lighter profile (and for only a little more) with the Dell XPS 13.

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